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The restoration included woodwork, ceiling, and furniture, and was completed with the installation of a reproduction wall-to-wall carpet that matches the original 1906 area rug. Funding to create the one-of-a-kind carpet was made possible without the use of State funds by utilizing donations earmarked as part of the Speaker Matthew J. Ryan Memorial from the Capitol Preservation Committee Trust Fund. "Speaker Ryan's ardent support and dedication to Capitol preservation is only part of the legacy he has left behind, but is one that will continue to live on for future generations. The Committee, and the entire Commonwealth, owes a debt of gratitude to Speaker Ryan for his exceptional political abilities, fervent sense of history, and constant support of preserving Pennsylvania's Capitol," said Rep. Clymer.

The Committee began work on reproducing the Governor's Reception Room carpet in 1997. While conducting research to reproduce the carpet, the Committee found evidence that confirmed the original Governor's Reception Room rug was a Berlin Rug, made in Berlin, Germany. A high-class product of German manufacturing, the Berlin Rug equals the famed hand-made Eastern rugs in durability and quality, but was produced in a fraction of the time and price.

The room has been in use since the Senate moved to its new chamber in 1859. Since then, the room has undergone seasonal cleaning, redecorating, and various upgrades to its systems and its décor. In the early decades, the Minton tile floors of the room were entirely covered with velvet carpeting during the winter months and re-exposed and laid with area rugs during the summer months. During the 19th century, when the room was unofficially known as the "Ladies Reception Room" or the "Ladies parlor," richly upholstered chairs, sofas and settees furnished the room along with heavy brocade and lace draperies on the windows. The room acquired its unofficial name during the American Civil War (1861-1865), when it became the place where women widowed by the war gathered to lobby senators for individual claims for survivors’ benefits or for employment in the federal government. Through the late 19th century, as decorative tastes changed and furniture wore out, the room acquired additional furnishings, including theelaborate gilded cornices that crown both of the windows and the mirror above the mantel. In 1899, the benches that presently line the walls of the room were purchased. In the same period, the custom of applying carpeting in the winter was discontinued and area rugs were used exclusively thereafter.

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